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It’s been a terrific Rugby World Cup so far, full of exciting moments, great rugby and thrills.
Japan beat South Africa in the biggest upset of the tournament’s history. It was only Japan’s second ever win in the World Cup, having appeared in all seven tournaments and playing in 26 games.
In contrast, the Springboks have won the World Cup twice, making the victory Japan’s biggest win in their history.
The way they achieved the win was special. Japan refused to take a kickable penalty (which would have drawn the match) and instead drove for the try, and the whole rugby world applauded their win. This result should really open up rugby in Japan in time for the next tournament in 2019, which they will host.
A less celebrated upset was Georgia beating Tonga, 17-10. This was one of the biggest wins in Georgia’s rugby history, especially considering Tonga defeated France in the 2011 World Cup.
One thing that has become clear in this year’s tournament is that the gap between the giants and minnows is getting much smaller. We have yet to see any of the crushing defeats inflicted on the smaller teams that have marred previous tournaments (New Zealand beating Japan 145-10 in 1995 and Australia beating Namibia 142-0 in 2003).
Those one-sided games have become a thing of the past, as we have seen with Japan beating South Africa, and Namibia losing to New Zealand by 58-14. So far, the biggest win has been Australia’ defeat of Uruguay 65-3, and every team has scored a few points. The minnows are definitely catching up.
Ireland beat Romania in front of a record crowd of nearly 90,000 at Wembley, the largest number of people to attend a Rugby World Cup match. This record looks set to stand for quite a while as no rugby stadium has close to that capacity.
This was also the ninth highest attendance at any rugby match in the game’s history. Strangely, Wembley won’t be used again as a venue in this year’s tournament. The other game at Wembley saw New Zealand beat Argentina, also in front of almost 90,000 people.
Wales beat England in a tremendous match by 28-25. In a reversal of Japan’s game, England tried to go for a try to win but failed. It was quite an upset itself as Wales have been beset by injuries, while England are the host nation and were expected to make a good show of themselves.
Instead, England find themselves fighting for survival and will more than likely bow out of the tournament if they lose against Australia.
Pool A was rightly nicknamed the ‘Pool of Death’, and most money would have been on Wales being the top-tier team to be left behind. If England to fail to qualify it will be the first time in the tournament’s history that the host nation has not made it to the knock-out stages.
So much excitement and we’re only at the third week of the tournament and haven’t even got to the knock-out stages yet.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.